I think I used to have a thread here but I'm not sure what happened to it, it's disappeared. Therefore you may have read some of this stuff before, but I think the majority of it is new. Enjoy, and critiques would be great.


Faceless Words

special consideration - Write4Fun poetry competition 2004

I drift in and out of dreams,
The shadows flit around in the deepest recesses,
Of my troubled mind,
Chasing away the memories forever,
And yet the pain still lingers.

The rough hand grips my heart,
And squeezes, the rivulets of ink running,
Painting my smarting body black and blue,
Pooling at my feet, the reflection, faceless…

I sit curled up, tense, pen poised,
Ink dripping onto the blank white sheet before me,
The emptiness so consuming,
No words can express the feeling, nothing comes,
It’s just not the same.

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Colours of the Past

Cook gazes over Terra Nulius,
As the shadow,
Of an invisible black man creeps slowly by.
The last gunshot,
Echoes,
The smell of gunpowder,
Lingers,
And Tasmania is white.

The plague of white mice sweeps,
The land,
Burning and pillaging,
Spreading destruction and disease.

26th January,
Australia Day, or,
Invasion Day…
One is white,
One is black.

The blackened trees,
Creaking in the wind,
Still alive,
Like the ‘dying race’
That just refused to
Die.

Lost land, lost children, lost culture, or,
Stolen land,
Stolen children,
Stolen culture.

The politicians,
They talk about ‘reconciliation’, yet,
There is one small word,
That’s just too hard to say…
Sorry.

And now,
The powerful white swans,
Glide,
Over the calm water,
Upon which,
The beautiful black swans,
Once swam.

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Inside the Perfect Shadow

Lingering words and the hurt you left me,
The shattered fragments of a person I can never be,
The condescending insults ringing in my ears,
You walk away and you never notice my tears.
Inside the perfect shadow that you wish to see,
Cowers this immaculate perception, me.

My problems are too hard and you don’t want to know,
The scars inside too deep to let your feelings show,
You turn your back again on another painful day,
And close your blinkered eyes as I wash my blood away.
Inside the perfect shadow that you wish to see,
Cowers this immaculate perception, me.

You’re not the only one with scars inside,
In the dark place where our fears and secrets hide,
The difference is that you gave them to me.
You took what hurt you and you set it free,
Inside the perfect shadow that you wish to see,
This immaculate perception, Me.

************************************************** ***

The Liberation Quest of Eternity

This is about the war in Iraq. Peace.

The statue falls with brainwashed pride,
While the divided country runs to hide,
The trampled flag on the muddy ground,
And the snipers clustered all around,
Confused figures stagger through the blackened city,
On the liberation march of short memories.

Is that what was intended on creation day,
To strap explosives and blow your fears away?
The children’s faces with frightened eyes,
Merely a shell beneath the lies,
Confused figures stagger through the blackened city,
On the liberation march of short memories.

The buildings shake and the concrete cracks,
Crimson life seeps from beneath the tarmac,
The tears fall down like the pouring rain,
To consume the dead and bury the pain,
Confused figures stagger through the blackened city,
On the liberation march of short memories.

The soundtrack to greed and power, fear and hate,
The President’s latest address to Cabinet,
The mindless slaughter a hero’s choice,
Made by those of us without a voice.
Confused figures stagger through the blackened city,
On the liberation quest of eternity.

************************************************** ***

My Nightmare

This was partly inspired by my friend talking about having insomnia and a writer's imagination. The french part means 'I love you, my dear'.

The cuts inside me deepen,
As all the faces turn away,
My demons stalking me,
Inside my nightmare, every day.

All the sleepless hours spent,
The tears shed each painful day,
The cuts inside me fail to heal,
As I wash my blood away.

The voice whispers in my head,
'Je vous aime mon chere',
Yet all the lies are rampant,
in this nightmare that is me.

************************************************** ***

Midnight Ramblings

This one was written on my way home from work in a taxi. It was the middle of the night and I was exhausted, and this the the product of that

Empty dark highways,
Empty dark minds,
Frozen chaffed fingertips,
Frozen chaffed memories.
Pondering this anomaly,
Pungent swirling smoke,
Whispers in dreams,
Words never spoken.

Evil silent filmstrip,
Evil silent eyes,
Pale icy vapors,
Pale icy tears.
Visions of angels,
Virus of demons,
Banish ancient nightmares,
Brush away tears.

************************************************** ***

Dear Benjamin

This is a letter I wrote to the guy who has haunted my memories for years. This is the final chapter, the final goodbye.

These are the last words I'm writing to you,
The very last time that I'll bleed for you,
As your eyes still burn inside my head,
You'll intertwine my memories instead.

Your cold laughter rings inside my mind,
As the painful dreams gradually unwind.
The curling tendrils of hurt and regret,
I may have healed but I'll never forget.

As your rough fingers caressed my skin,
Your sharp nails cut me from within,
The bloodied cuts you left inside my soul,
Yet only you can make me whole.

The disillusioned mindset that to touch me is your right,
That I won't fight,
And in closing,
I'll tell you what I think you always knew,
I hate you.

Goodbye.

************************************************** ***

From the Dying Breath

Running footsteps stalking in the shadows,
Haunting - ghostlike they linger, never faltering,
A voice,
A cry,
A command in the echoing silence,
On their knees they fire,
Once,
Twice,
Three,
Four,
Five times.
'This one's for our nation'
'This one's for yours...'

On and on, the deafening chants ringing in the weakening thoughts,
The memories,
The pain...

The pain like a thousand daggers,
Blinding, smothering,
Penetrated only by their feet,
Marching,
Marching to the beat of the everlasting drum.
Boom boom, boom boom...
The heart is racing,
The images flicking through the numb mind,
Like the laughter,
The jeers,
And the hate.
The hate which pollutes the world from the dying breath.


All poems (c) V.C 2005/6

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hey you have talent! i was reading your poems,"Colours of the Past" its awesome and i dont forget Inside the Perfect Shadow well ALL your poems have like something on every life i think, your feelings are there! you are a poet congratulations!!
i will say........... YOU ROCK!!!

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wow! those poems are great congratulations.... you are a talented poet

Thanks for your comments, and I'm glad you enjoyed my stuff.

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Come join!

i like your work! my favorite was Colours of the Past. keep it up!

Thanks for your comments both of you. Glad you enjoyed my stuff.


This is the most recent poem I have written - one that was penned just the other night.

For You

For you,
Whose real name I didn’t know until now,
Who would speak to anyone,
But I never took the time to speak to you.
For you,
The newest angel.

The power pole bears the scars,
Your name,
The memories.
The flowers linger by the side of the road,
A lasting ghostly reminder,
Of the loss of another innocent life.

Empty beer bottles placed at the scene,
To drink you into the next life?
Or to remind us how you left this one.
Rain soaked teddy bears with matted fur,
Adorned with the petals of the withering roses,
Symbolize how suddenly our lives can change.

Your youth, the real tragedy here,
The future you never get to experience,
The people who you will never have an impact upon.
The vibrant young man I remember,
It’s all over in one split second,
Forever.
For you.

In memory of Jason ‘Billy Big Ears’ Faignes 1986 – 18/12/2005.

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This piece is still a work in progess. It has no title as yet - therefore any suggestions would be appreciated. It was quite random - I have no idea where it came from or what it is really about.

He watched as the young ones buried their brother,
Standing tall and silent, unflinching,
Hovering over the scene like an uncouth apparition.
Their tears and fear – more emotions to feed the darkness,
Which binds the young ones’ innocence,
And lays its heavy hand upon the grieving earth.

The darkening sky, the darkening eyes,
Echo one another in stormy tempest.
The icy breeze and the icy skin,
Like the caressing fingertips of those unseen.

He watched as the young ones buried their sister,
A smile gently teasing the edges of his lips,
As the upturned faces of the young ones meet his,
They see a flicker of the Devil’s child, and the darkness,
With which he binds their innocence,
And lays their trembling hands upon the grieving earth.

(c) 2005 V.C.

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That last one was pretty spooky... I know you said it's a work in progress, but I like it a lot. I'm not sure as far as suggestions go, though. The flow seems to work well, and the semi-repetition in parts is very thought-provoking.

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could make me love you less...

Monotone (work in progress)

For my mother

The echoes of the painful words,
The soundtrack to her life,
As the little girl lays down her head,
And shuts her careworn eyes.

The pounding footsteps in her dreams,
Stalking through her mind,
With the knowledge that it is her fault,
Her face is scarred and lined.

The condescending thoughts emerge,
As these everlasting lies,
To the child who is never good enough,
The dream of love will die.

...Ten years on she opens her eyes,
The words are still the same,
The everlasting echoes of the monotone,
Yet she's the one to blame.

(c) 2006 V.C.

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